Was Jane too plain for Thor? Natalie Portman's astrophysicist Dr. Jane Foster is not going to be in "Thor: Ragnarok," despite falling for Chris Hemsworth's god in "Thor" and sticking with him through "Thor: The Dark World." Instead, Marvel wants to mix things up, so Thor and Jane are dunzo, and Thor will now spar with a fellow Asgardian warrior, Valkyrie, played by Tessa Thompson.

Chris Hemsworth told Entertainment Weekly his character will enjoy being a single drifter and "solo cowboy" out in the universe. Then he'll meet Valkyrie.

Why not just bring back Jane? Here's Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige's take on it, to EW:

"We wanted Thor to encounter somebody that was near his equal and that his relationship with Jane may have evolved in unexpected ways in between 'The Dark World' and 'Ragnarok' and we wanted to pit him against a character who was much more his equal and in many ways his superior. Valkyrie is trying to not embrace any sort of Asgardian heritage that she has. Thor thinks maybe that will create a bond between them and, on the contrary, she wants to forget it all entirely."

Last year, Feige told Empire there were "many reasons" for Portman's Jane not returning for the third "Thor" movie. "Many of which are in the film so you will see that. There are only a couple of scenes on Earth in this movie; 80 to 90 percent takes place in the cosmos."

Also last year, Portman told the Wall Street Journal she was basically phased out of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. "As far as I know, I'm done. I don't know if maybe one day they'll ask for an 'Avengers 7' or whatever I have no idea. But as far as I know, I'm done."

Imprisoned on the other side of the universe, the mighty Thor finds himself in a deadly gladiatorial contest that pits him against the Hulk, his former ally and fellow Avenger. Thor's quest for survival leads him in a race against time to prevent the all-powerful Hela from destroying his home world and the Asgardian civilization. Read More